Press releases 2009

A record £82.5 billion was raised through new and further issues of equity on the London Stock Exchange during the course of 2009, an increase of 16 per cent on the total for 2008, itself a record year.  

Despite difficult market conditions, there were a total of 69 new issues on the Exchange, including 18 IPOs, and a significant number of further issues, totalling £80.7 billion, taking place.

Tracey Pierce, Head of Equity Primary Markets at London Stock Exchange Group, said:

“Our markets continued to support the capital raising needs of companies across the year, with a flow of secondary issues contributing to a record year of equity fundraising, providing firms with the backing they need to help them through testing market conditions.  Although there can be no certainty regarding the timing of new issues, our pipeline of new companies looking to float in 2010 is promising, with firms from a broad range of countries and sectors keen to benefit from the liquidity and profile that a listing in London offers.”

2009 EQUITY MARKET HIGHLIGHTS:

• On July 27 ,Tata Steel, one of the world’s leading steel companies, raised $500 million, the largest ever Indian GDR offering in London
  
  
• Also in July, RusHydro, the world's largest publicly traded hydro generation company joined the Main Market, while Virgin Media joined the Official List in October, giving investors the opportunity to invest in one of the UK’s leading entertainment brands
  
  
• Over £50 billion was raised through rights issues from a broad range of companies on the Main Market. As well as significant rights issues by Royal Bank of Scotland Group and HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group raised £13.5 billion in November, the world’s largest ever rights issue. In addition mining group Rio Tinto, home builder Barratt Developments and brewer Greene King raised £7.3 billion, £545.5 million and £218.0 million in rights issues respectively
  
  
• Centamin Egypt moved from AIM to the Main Market in November, having grown from a market capitalisation of £21.5 million on admission to AIM in 2001 to over £1 billion
  
  
• AIM continued to perform resiliently, raising £5.3 billion, a 23 per cent increase on 2008, with money raised through further issues reaching £4.6 billion, a 45 per cent increase on last year
  
  
• During the year, more than 70 AIM companies conducted further issues worth over £10 million, including Songbird Estates which raised £620 million in October, AIM’s largest ever secondary issue
  
  
• The largest AIM IPO of the year was Max Property Group, which floated in May, raising £220 million
  
  

Marcus Stuttard, Head of AIM, said:

"As we enter 2010, AIM remains a vital source of funding for growth companies, supporting innovation and jobs across the UK, and internationally.  AIM is the only growth market in the world with the critical mass to provide firms from a wide range of countries and sectors with access to capital not just at IPO but throughout their life on the market.

“The fact that AIM companies succeeded in raising over £4.5 billion through further issues in 2009 - capital injections which they have used to pay off debt, rebuild balance sheets and fund further growth - demonstrates how interest in small and mid cap companies among London’s unrivalled suite of small cap investors remains strong.”

*includes non-IPO new issues

**2009 totals are based on confirmed figures up to the end of November and estimates up to 18 December.

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For further information, please contact:

Alastair Fairbrother                           Press Office +44 (0)20 7797 1222

                                                            newsroom@londonstockexchange.com

Statistical notes and references

1. Information in this release is based on the Group’s management estimates and calculations sourced from publicly available information, including Main Market and Secondary Market fact sheets and Professional Securities Market fact sheets, AIM Market Statistics, Monthly Market reports and the Exchange Group’s and its subsidiaries’ internal market and trading databases. 
   
   
2. Money raised figures for individual IPOs are given in the currency in which the securities were issued, and, where possible are extracted from the companies’ own announcements.
   
   
3. Figures for 2009 are approximate, based on confirmed totals for the year to the end of November, and estimates for the period 1 – 18 December.